Poems bring voices to women of the Bible

July 12, 2016

WINSTON-SALEM, NC — Press 53 announces the publication of “she: robed and wordless” by Sister Lou Ella Hickman, who is a widely published poet and also a Catholic religious sister.

This new collection will be published as a Tom Lombardo Poetry Selection, an imprint of Press 53, edited by Tom Lombardo of Atlanta, Georgia. Publication is set for Sept. 1.

Bishop Robert Morneau, Retired Auxiliary Bishop of Green Bay, Wisconsin, states in his foreword, “In she: robed and wordless, Sister Lou Ella invites us to reflect on biblical women who encountered grace and sins, joys and sorrows, life and death. Employing the facility of reverent empathy and the gift of language, this poet opens up for us what might have transpired in the minds and hearts of these feminine scriptural characters.”

In his Introduction, Series Editor Tom Lombardo asks, “After Eve, who is the next woman named in the Bible?” He goes on to say that after reading a few of Sister Hickman’s poems in the voices of these women, he contacted her. 

“She and I discussed how very interesting it would be to read an entire collection featuring the voices of the women from the Bible. Who were these women? What were their thoughts beyond the happenings of the pages? What were their struggles to make sense of their circumstances, to make sense of the men they lived with, and most importantly, to make sense of their deep and profound feelings?”

David Bottoms, Poet Laureate of Georgia, said, “These terse little poems are often bright nuggets of insight into the psyches not only of the biblical women who speak through this poet’s imagination, but they are also deep insights into our own psyches. Although the voices imagined here are voices of many women from the Bible, the truths revealed are universal.”

Sister Hickman is a member of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament of Corpus Christi, Texas. She has a master’s in theology and she taught on all levels, including college. Her poems and articles have been published in numerous magazines, including the anthology “After Shocks: Poetry of Recovery for Life-Shattering Events,” edited by Tom Lombardo. Presently, she is a freelance writer as well as a certified spiritual director.

Press 53 books are distributed by Ingram and their partners throughout the U.S., U.K., Europe, Canada and Australia. 
For more information, or to purchase the book, visit the website.